Consumers track marketing data on themselves

Consumers may now check the information marketers collect and sell about them. One of the largest data collection companies, Acxiom, is now inviting everyone to log on to its website and take a deep look into the information.

Those who log on to the site, aboutthedata.com are also able to edit information that is erroneous. Bridget Stasenko from Pittsburgh discovered that Acxiom lists her as married with children. That is not true. It also says she is interested in hunting. She is not. And she does not believe she will ever be. “No,” Stasenko said, “I don't think so.”

When you see ads while you are surfing the Web that are specifically targeted to you, it can be shocking.

Saul Markowitz owns Markowitz Communications, a PR and marketing firm. He says companies that advertise online must be careful not to scare away customers with precision marketing.

“And suddenly we heard somebody say, ‘oh, I'm looking for a PR firm.’ and my ad pops up on their Facebook page,” Markowitz said, “It might be a few people who might say OK Big Brother, what are you trying to do?”

But the precision marketing genie is already out of the bottle. Much of consumers’ information is already in the hands of retailers. They collect it through census data and public government sources. They also collect it through you, tracking what you buy.

Acxiom’s offer to consumers to see the information it has collected and fix it may mean you no longer get pop up ads online that you do not want to see.

“I think it's great, I think it's awesome,” said Markowitz, “At least you're able to go in and say is there a mistake.”

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